1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an aircraft brake assembly container, more specifically an aircraft brake assembly container having a variable internal geometry and a method of using the container in securing aircraft brake assemblies, more specifically a method of integrating the container in the method of securing the new and used aircraft brake assemblies with provision for a spacing member between two halves of the container.
2. Background of the Invention
A unique difficulty exists in the aircraft industry in that frequent maintenance service is required to maintain serviceable vehicles. Maintenance is one of the principal costs in operating airlines, and, therefore, the airline industry and industries similar to it with vehicle fleets are frequently looking for ways to increase productivity in servicing these fleets. In servicing airplanes, airplane brakes frequently require replacement. This type of service requires disassembly of the existing brake assembly from the undercarriage and removal of the assembly, typically requiring wincing or manhandling of the components due to the heavy weight of the components, and then storage and transport of the used assembly. Similarly, during servicing, the new brake assembly must be loaded, moved, winched, and mounted to the undercarriage of the airplane. The packaging of the brake is, therefore, important in facilitating this service. Several configurations of specialized containers have been conceived in the past to address increased productivity in various activities involving shipping containers.
Further developments in aircraft have led to larger brake assemblies, requiring larger containers and lower profiles to best fit under a used brake assembly do to design changes in the assemblies and the aircraft undercarriages. A need for an oversized container to contain the larger brake assemblies with a lower profile in the section being used in removal and storage of the used brake assembly and installation of the new brake assemblies is needed. In addition, additional transformative aspects of the improved container are needed in the process of using the brake container in replacing an aircraft brake assembly with lower profile requirements due to undercarriage design.
In the search for increased productivity, numerous design improvements in specialized containers have been utilized. Many designs for shipping containers have, in the past, utilized various design elements, for instance mirror image container halves, in attempts to provide for a more convenient container. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 2,728,581 shows an ammunition transport container with a box structure having two halves each formed of two open-ended sections. Included are rigid cradle-like units 23 as shown in FIG. 2 having a semi-circular seat of a size and shape adapted to accommodate the normally outwardly projecting end of the cylindrical hollow core of the ammunition containers contained in the box. Similarly, several designs have provided containers for cradling delicate materials with inserts for transport. German Patent DE4136268A1 describes a container for transporting and storing wire spools. The container has two halves (1, 21), with two supports guides (3) for supporting the spools and allowing them to be played out with guide bars, as described. In this instance, the structure also facilitates spooling out wire. However, none of these addresses the complexities of aircraft brake assembly servicing and the containers used in this servicing. These designs do not provide for integration of the container as a tool in servicing procedures, much less in servicing aircraft brake assemblies.
Even in the special case of transporting aircraft components, for example, aircraft brake assembly components, there are examples of using specially accommodating containers, such as designs incorporating specially shaped halves. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 6,036,007, shows a transportation case for heavy objects and provides for accommodating halves, with the top lid and base that are distinct for supporting the brake assembly in a vertical position. The design has two equal portions, a top portion and a mating bottom portion. Additionally, the components are supported by cushions. The bottom portion employs a substantially frusto-conically shaped cushion projecting upwardly therefrom, toward the top portion. The top portion employing a similar frusto-conically shaped cushion projecting downwardly therefrom, toward the bottom portion. The cushions are substantially aligned to hold the brake assembly in a vertical position.
However, no accommodation was made for making the container more useful in the process of servicing the brake assembly. Until Applicants' development of the aircraft brake assembly container of U.S. Pat. No. 7,690,506. Applicants' identified an increase in productivity by utilizing a variable internal geometry container with halves containing the new brake assembly and providing access through one side of the container to the aircraft brake assembly mounting. This allows for the used brake to be slid into one half of the delivered aircraft brake container that is removed from the new brake assembly container after delivery and then use of the remaining half to be slid with the new brake assembly onto the aircraft and installed. This process is outlined in Applicants' U.S. Pat. No. 7,954,220.
However, further developments in aircraft design and increased size of the aircraft disks have led to a need for a lower profile container to move into position under the aircraft undercarriage while still providing a container with sufficient dimensions to contain a larger aircraft brake disc.
As noted in Applicants' previous filings, increased productivity can be achieved through an improved container that facilitates service methods for brake assembly servicing. Specifically, a brake container that facilitates transport of the brake assembly to the aircraft undercarriage and removal of the used brake all on the axle of the aircraft without the need for additional slinging or wincing or manhandling of the assembly on and off the axle. This both improves efficiency and, potentially, reduces injuries from manhandling of brake assemblies during servicing. However, in some models of airplane, a lower profile side of the container with the void space to provide penetration of the aircraft axle is required than that available to accommodate the dimensions of the brake in a final transport position or configuration when the brake container is reassembled. Thus an improved container is necessary. Additionally, this improved container accommodates an even wider variety of brake assemblies, reducing the costs of manufacture of the containers and facilitating easy accommodation of changes in the design and geometry of the brake assemblies.
Furthermore, several models of these types of containers are required to accommodate the several models of brake assembly. This lack of flexibility necessitates use a wide variety of container sizes and shapes that house a particular brake assembly series or are similarly specific to an aircraft component or series of components. The design specific containers add costs for aircraft maintenance companies and require special accommodations by container manufacturers in manufacturing the specific container lines. This results in frequent line changes to produce the wide varieties of different shapes, sizes, and geometries in these containers, thus driving up costs. Similarly, the failure to integrate the container shape to fit into the method of servicing the aircraft brake increases the time required to perform maintenance, further adding costs.
To date, only the existing container design of the Applicant has been supplied that both aids in removal and in the installation of the brake assembly in lower profile applications, provides for the ability to vary internal geometry to accommodate a wide variety of aircraft brake assemblies, and provides for reassembly for container storage and/or transport of the used brake assembly. This has provided for a cost effective aircraft brake assembly container that provides for both durable and stable transport of the brake assembly and ease of use as well as better integration of the container into the maintenance processes of the lower installation profile undercarriage aircraft and provides a container that is also flexible enough to accommodate variations in the size, shape, and geometry of existing aircraft and spacecraft brake assemblies and allows for transport of the brake assembly in a horizontal orientation.
However, a need exists for an even greater flexibility and range in accommodating ever larger brake assemblies and to provide for enhanced, lower clearance at the lip of the container during service procedures, and improved load spreading and support during transport. Thus, further modification of the basic container assembly has resulted in an even greater ability to adapt the existing container and lower the profile of the container as it is used in service.